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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. field — a subject
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. field — farmland
  6. hand — help
  7. cue — for pool
  8. hand — in cards
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. sharp — clever
  14. field — for sport
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. plane — a tool
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. hand — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com